The subject matter disclosed herein relates to an aircraft and, more particularly, to an aircraft with a drive element of a pitch control apparatus coupled to an exterior of a gearbox housing.
An aircraft, such as a helicopter, generally includes an airframe formed to define a cabin, an upper portion and a tail portion. The cabin is configured to accommodate a pilot and, in some cases, additional crewmen or passengers as well as controls accessible to at least the pilot so that the pilot can input flight control commands to a flight computer. The upper portion includes a pylon that is supportive of a main rotor and the tail portion includes a tail that is supportive of a tail rotor or propeller. The rotors/propellers are rotatable about rotational axes and can be pitched about pitch axes to provide for navigational and flight control of the aircraft.
Typically, pitch control of the rotor or propeller at the tail portion is controlled by an actuation unit provided as part of a gearbox housing that serves as a component in a transmission system operably disposed between an engine and the rotor or propeller. This configuration requires that the gearbox housing be increased in size and weight to accommodate the actuation unit.